 Imagine you are a new immigrant to the United States.  How will you decide where to live, work, etc.?

 Imagine you are standing in the alley with the three boys in the picture below.  What social problem or problems does this photograph show? Describe each problem you see in two sentences or more.

 Between 1870 and 1920, at least 12 million immigrants arrived in the U.S.  Some new immigrants found their way to the farm country of the Midwest  Most jobs were in the cities, so many immigrants stayed in the East  Urban populations exploded › Many stayed in New York or boarded trains for Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, or other industrial centers

 Ghettos formed – immigrants generally settled among others from their home country › Little Italy, China Town, etc.  As a result, different areas of the city often had distinctive ethnic flavors › Jacob Riis, a writer and photographer, described a map of NY’s ethnic communities: “A map of the city colored to designate nationalities would show more stripes than on the skin of a zebra, and more colors than any rainbow.”

 Newly arrived immigrants tended to live in the least desirable districts › Housing was cheapest › Contained factories and shops that provided their livelihood

 Over half of the nation’s industrial labor force was foreign born  Most worked in low-wage, dangerous factory jobs

 What are three factors that influenced where immigrants settled?

 Immigrants crowded into tenement buildings and other run-down, slum housing › The typical tenement was “one or two dark closets, used as bedrooms with a living room twelve feet by ten.”  Slum neighborhoods were among the most densely populated areas in the world › Sometimes more than 300,000 people per square mile! (NYC as a whole housed 90,000 people per square mile)

 Infrastructure refers to the facilities and equipment required for an organization or community to function › Roads, sewage, power systems, and transportation  Lack of fire protection and sanitation problems were common › Many city roads and sidewalks were constructed of wood and cities were virtual firetraps › Poor neighborhoods lacked indoor plumbing and waste often ended up on the streets › Contagious diseases spread quickly through crowded slums

 “Here was a congestion the like of which I had never seen before. Within the narrow limits of one-half square mile were crowded together thirty-five thousand people, living tier upon tier, huddled together until the very heavens seemed to be shut out. These narrow alley-like streets of Old Boston were one mass of litter. The air was laden with soot and dirt. Ill odors arose from every direction… A thousand wheels of commercial activity whirled incessantly day and night, making noises which would rack the sturdiest of nerves. › -- Constantine M. Panunzio, The Soul of an Immigrant, 1969

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 One of the most respected journalists in NYC in the late 1800s  In his book, How the Other Half Lives, Riis wrote about the conditions of the urban poor. › “Like rabbits in their burrows, the little ragamuffins sleep with at least one eye open, and every sense alert to the approach of danger: of their enemy, the policeman, whose chief business in life is to move them on…”  Photographs and stories of life in the slums helped to raise awareness and eventually make improvements

 How would you describe the surroundings faced by immigrants during this time?  How do you think this shaped their lives?

 Immigrants often faced tough circumstances upon their arrival to the U.S. › What type of help do you think immigrants received?

 Relatives & Friends  Settlement House – community center that provided a variety of services to the poor, especially to immigrants  Political Bosses – powerful leaders who ran local politics

 Political Machine – unofficial city org. that kept a party / group in power.  Headed by a single leader / “Boss”

 Why does no one stop the Political boss? › City government grows powerful to provide for people’s (immigrants) needs  Fire protection, transportation, etc › In exchange of favors  Politicians offer jobs, contracts to immigrants for their support (votes)  They helped poor people when gov’t or industry would not

 Most Famous - William “Boss” Tweed  Ran Tammany Hall - Democratic Party in NYC  Brought down by Political Cartoonist – Thomas Nast

 3 – sources of aid for immigrants  2 – reasons why political bosses weren’t always “dealt with”  1 – question or comment you have on the concepts covered today